Young Fresh Fellows - "My Friend Ringo"

We're going to take a different path than normal today with our song-of-the-weekend selection. Typically, I keep the choices fairly current but today I decided to offer up a blast from my past and share a song from about 25 years ago. Back in 1987, pop radio was playing hits like "Walk Like an Egyptian," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," and "Livin' on a Prayer." My friends and I were only paying attention to the college radio scene.  I couldn't tell you the names of those top 40 hits but I could tell you just about every song by Seattle's Young Fresh Fellows and I owned everything they had published.

The Young Fresh Fellows were considered early pioneers of the fantastic Seattle music scene. The Trouser Press website describes their music as such:
Seattle's Young Fresh Fellows combine punk-derived recklessness and a bubbly garage-pop sensibility with an absurdist lyrical wit and a bittersweet vulnerable streak that has grown increasingly resonant as the band confronts the inconvenient realities of adult life. 

That's a fancy way of saying these guys are a lot of fun! The absudist lyrical wit really hits the mark as these guys were absolutely hysterical!

'My Friend Ringo" comes from the 4th of their 15 studio albums entitled 'The Men Who Loved Music.'

Turn it up and ENJOY the fabulous sounds of the Young Fresh Fellows!

Listen to "My Friend Ringo"
From the album 'The Men Who Loved Music'


Click here to watch a Young Fresh Fellows video for "Amy Grant."

Matisyahu - "One Day"

Of all the Hasidic Jewish reggae, beat-boxing, hip-hop artists out there, I'd have to say Matisyahu is my favorite!  Seriously, can you believe that a man of his background is creating reggae-inspired music and has gained such popularity and industry recognition to boot.  I love it.

Born outside Philadelphia in 1979 with the name Matthew Paul Miller, he and his family eventually settled outside New York City.  His Pandora profile starts like this:  When Matisyahu emerged in 2004 with his debut album, Shake Off the Dust...Arise, his musical persona seemed to some a novelty. Here was a Hasidic Jew -- dressed in a black suit with a broad-brimmed black hat worn over a yarmulke, and sporting a full, untrimmed beard -- who nevertheless performed toasting raps about the glories of traditional Judaism over reggae beats in a dancehall style directly from Jamaica. Moreover, he punctuated his performances with stage diving. It may have seemed like a joke at first, but Matisyahu was serious about his craft, and his diverse style soon garnered Grammy nominations, gold record certifications, and a broad audience. 

Since 2004, Matisyahu has released three studio albums and had a top 40 hit in 2005 with the song King Without a Crown.  Our song selection today, "One Day," comes from his third studio album, the 2009 release entitled 'Light.'
I like reggae but I can't say I'm a die-hard fan....for me it's every once in a while, I get in the mood, kick on some reggae, and just chill mon.
ENJOY!

Listen to "One Day"
from the album 'Light'


Click to view a video of Matisyahu performing an acoustic, beat box version of "One Day."
Click to view Matisyahu tour dates.

My Morning Jacket - "First Light"

What am I listening to this week? How nice of you to ask.  It's the new album released in May from My Morning Jacket, their 6th studio record called 'Circuital.'

My Morning Jacket is and American rock band from Louisville, KY which formed in 1999.  I like this band but for me, I'd say they were an acquired taste...took me a while to 'get it.'   Not an easy band to categorize with regard to their sound, Wikipedia lists their genres as: Americana, roots rock, country rock, jam band, southern rock, and indie rock.  That should just about cover it I would say.

For consistent fans of the band, 'Circuital' appears to be a return to form of sorts as indicated by this review of the new album by Max Blau on the Paste Magazine site:
While 'Circuital' is far from a perfect record, it boasts a collection of songs that indicates a return to form for these Louisville rockers following the road bump that came in the form of Evil Urges. Several tracks, including “Circuital” with its slow-building dynamic declaration and the ominous “Holdin’ On To Black Metal," almost instantaneously can be placed among the band’s best songs. “First Light” roars with a brass-backed intensity, while “Movin’ Away” closes the record echoing the serenity found circa At Dawn.

My pick today is "First Light." It's my personal favorite from 'Circuital.'
Yes...high volume is required.  Turn it up and ENJOY!

Listen to "First Light"
From the album 'Circuital'

Click here to view a video of My Morning Jacket on Letterman.
Click here to view My Morning Jacket tour dates.

Joshua Path - "The Magician"

I had never heard of Joshua Path before this week and, in a roundabout way, I have iTunes to thank for introducing me.  I was doing some work in my office at night this week and Pandora was streaming as per usual.  Some song caught my attention (although I can't tell you what song it was) and I went to iTunes to explore that other band.   Towards the bottom of the page iTunes suggested other artists which were similar and Joshua Path was listed.  Curious because I had never heard of him, I clicked on his new album.  There you have it, now you know how I found this California artist this week.

So there really is not a lot out on the web on this guy...but here is a little info:
"The Magician" comes from his brand new album, his sixth, called 'Between Heaven and Jonestown' which was only released about 7 weeks ago.  He is based near L.A. and the only upcoming show listed on his website is actually tonight at Genghis Cohen.

This song just kind of mesmerized me...There is just something about this rhythmic guitar riff, background vocals, and driving drumbeat that I could listen to all day. I have a feeling this one will appeal to many different types of people with many different tastes in music.
Have a great weekend and ENJOY THE MUSIC!

Listen to "The Magician"
From the album 'Between Heaven and Jonestown'

Click to view a Joshua Path live video of "Spider of Love."